ClixPrestige

Flying with a Stoma bag for the first time!

So we are on our way to the Dominican Republic as I write this post. Things have not gone off to a great start but we are all looking forward to our holiday. Skye has coped tremendously so far, in fact, she’s a lot calmer than me. I’m not a big fan of flying but I want to travel to exotic places so I’ve got to do it.

We got through security and although Skye beeped with her Stoma, I notified the security and they were very nice and checked her carefully. Apparently, Stoma bags do make security beep, just wish they could correct the Stoma bags so they didn’t do this. The staff were ok but only because I informed them, my daughter was, of course, embarrassed, but most things I do embarrass her lately. Lovely teenage years, I’m always getting told off lately for saying the wrong thing.

The Stoma supplies that she had permission to take on the flight with her luckily passed, although they did take it off us and examine the cream and her spray to make sure we were not hiding any dangerous substances inside. I’m glad they checked though as it’s good for safety, just wish they had done it more discretely as everyone one was looking at us like we were criminals. I had a letter with doctors permission for taking her Stoma supplies onboard and had notified TUI way before our flight. I wasn’t very impressed with TUI telling us what to do and where to go, they didn’t show any discretion towards my daughter’s condition, and no warmth with her embarrassment of keeping things private.

We were delayed for a couple of hours, which if I’m honest I’d expected because Easter is the worst time to fly. I’d been warned from friends who work on flights that it always happens. Apparently, it’s because Easter is the busiest time of the year. The aircraft have more technical problems due to more flights. Are we not able to cope with this? Why is this still a problem? Have all the years of Easter delays not taught anyone anything?

Anyway.... I’m stuck on an aeroplane as I write, I’m allowed to moan.... long-haul flights are painful enough without the delay. We booked welfare seats for Skye that are near a toilet to make her life easier. The only problem is the toilet that she had access to is in the premium area. People have paid extra to have these seats and the toilets are separated by a curtain. They have announced over the plane that nobody is to use the toilets in premium, although we have permission Skye doesn’t want to draw any attention to herself from going to use them. I, of course, would put a few people straight on the plane that stare and tut, but Skye is a teenager and she doesn’t want me to embarrass her.

As you can imagine she’s on edge because of this and I can’t wait till we are off this flight just to see her relax. Her Stoma bag hasn’t blown up too much, I keep getting her to snack regularly and drink plenty of water. Because we are tight,(just because it’s the point of having to pay more when you’ve already paid for your flights) we haven’t paid to sit together. Of course, I’m with Skye but my mum, dad, hubby and 7-year-old are all separated 7 rows behind us. My 7-year-old has his dad sat by him but with the aisle between them, it’s my first flight without having to entertain him, it’s been nice for me for a change, I’m sure my hubby is starting to struggle now though, I might need to swap.

The film choices haven’t been great, hence why I’m writing this post. There is only one that I haven’t seen and I’ve watched it now, (Patti Cake$), I enjoyed it lots and would definitely recommend. Our vegetarian food wasn’t great, but aeroplane meals never are. I’m sure a day of little food is a good thing though as I’m sure we will be eating plenty during our holiday.

I will end this post now, hopefully, the next 4 hours left will go quicker than the last 5 and a half that we’ve been sat on this plane. By the time I post this, we will have arrived at our hotel in one piece and I can upload this on the hotel WiFi. I will post again to let you all know how things are going on our holiday.

......

I never got to post this as WiFi was super slow. We are home now and have been for a week. Everything was fine on the flight home, in fact, Punta Cana airport in the Dominican Republic was a lot better than Birmingham. We were escorted to a disabled area that was private and they checked Skye’s supplies without any one knowing. I had to remind TUI of her condition when we handed over our tickets but I thought that they were a lot more organised In Punta Cana than Birmingham airport.

I will write about our holiday and post as soon as I can. You can find out more about how Skye coped whilst in the Dominican Republic.

If you need any help with how to prepare for a holiday with a Stoma, read my related post down below.